[jyl]

Actually, total health insurance costs have not gone up as much as you perceive (although they are rising faster than inflation).

What is going up fast is YOUR portion of the cost.

Employers are shifting costs to employees, through higher employee share of premiums and (especially) through high deductibles.

This has nothing to do with the ACA. It is just another way that, overall, business (companies) are gaining ground while labor (employees) are not. In addition to holding wages stagnant for years, companies are saving money on benefits like healthcare insurance.